President Donald Trump made critical remarks aimed at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday, saying he “started” the war and calling him a “dictator.” The remarks were made first following the U.S.-Kremlin meeting in Saudi Arabia, where top diplomats from the U.S. and Russia—including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov—met to discuss improving relations and reaching a resolution in Ukraine. The remarks were then reiterated on his social media platform, Truth Social. 
 
The war in Ukraine began in 2014 after the Euromaidan revolution, but escalated significantly when the Russian military invaded Ukraine after President Putin announced the country was aimed at protecting ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine and halting NATO advancement in February 2022. Since then, Ukraine has banned opposition political parties and canceled elections as the country is under martial law.

American news outlets are generally bipartisan in their support of Ukraine, with a few right-leaning outlets expressing concerns over the amount of aid being sent. 

RT (Lean Right bias), a Russian state-sponsored media organization, posted an article that stated, “We are now in a – slightly – more normal world again, where Washington has returned to the minimum requirement of diplomacy... Moreover, US representatives have explicitly acknowledged that such talks should reflect the national interest of the participating states. That is another important and potentially very promising return, namely to both capital-R Realism.”

The Guardian Editorial Board (Left bias) wrote of Trump, “When he talks of the future of Ukraine or Gaza, he speaks not of human rights and security, lives and homes, but of laying US hands on $500bn of minerals and a ‘big real-estate site’ respectively. He believes in cutting deals, not making peace.”

Jim Geraghty (Lean Right bias) at The National Review (Right bias) wrote, “What ‘mutual geopolitical interest’ do we have with the regime that fired a missile into Kyiv’s main children’s hospital? Russia has killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, and more than 6 million Ukrainian citizens live under the brutal hand of occupying Russian forces, and our government is talking about ‘historic economic and investment opportunities’ with them?”

A writer for Daily Kos (Left bias) argued, “Trump’s foreign policy strategy apparently consists of abandoning allies, appeasing adversaries, and profiting off global instability. His reckless moves and chaotic governance not only threaten our national security by emboldening Russia, but also undermine the principles of democracy the U.S. once championed.”